Tried a 50/50 mix of PVA and methyl cellulose on some handmade paper

I was binding a poetry chapbook with some really fibrous, thick paper from a local mill in Asheville. The mix ended up soaking in way too fast and left almost no working time, which made lining up the signatures a real mess. Anyone have a better adhesive recipe for super absorbent papers like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

josephl671mo ago

Oh man, my buddy had the same issue with some super thirsty paper last month. He switched to a thicker wheat paste and said it gave him way more time to adjust stuff before it set. Worked like a charm for him.

xena_brown501mo agoMost Upvoted

Wait, people still use wheat paste?

campbell.tara29d ago

Gotta second that. Thicker paste is the secret weapon for tricky paper. I mix my own with a little extra flour and it buys me like a solid 10 more minutes to finesse the edges before it locks up tight.